Defining True Open Source AI
Techstrong.ai, Tuesday, April 29th, 2025
In this Techstrong AI interview, Steve Watt, vice president and distinguished engineer at the Office of the CTO for Red Hat, discusses what constitutes true open source artificial intelligence (AI) in an era where not all AI platforms are equally open.
In this Techstrong AI video interview, Mike Vizard talks with Steve Watt, distinguished engineer at Red Hat, about the evolving debate over what constitutes 'open' AI models, particularly regarding access to AI model weights. Watt explains that the term 'open source AI' is being used too loosely, often without meeting the traditional standards of open source software.
He highlights the risks enterprises face, especially when models are re-licensed improperly after fine-tuning, making it difficult to verify the true openness of a model without extensive investigation. He stresses the importance of scrutinizing AI model licenses closely, favoring familiar, permissive licenses like Apache 2.0.